Is Ed Markey Fracktracking?

Wait, did Rep. Ed Markey really just give a shout out to hydraulic fracturing? Back in July, the ranking member of the House Natural Resources committee was warning that “fracking” — a technique for unlocking natural gas and oil held in dense rock — could “turn stretches of forest into lifeless dunes.”

Yet this week, the congressman sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu in which he implicitly endorses fracking for its role in boosting domestic natural gas supply and lowering prices. In the letter, Rep. Markey expresses concern about plans to allow the U.S. to export more liquefied natural gas. This would relieve the supply glut in the U.S. and link the domestic market to those overseas, where prices can be two-to-three times higher, likely raising prices back home.

“For darn near 40 years, the entire mindset of this country has been focused on the need to move towards energy independence” says Geoff Styles, who runs energy consultancy GSW Strategy Group and pens a regular energy blog. Allowing companies like Cheniere to build export facilities runs counter to this entrenched way of thinking. That’s especially so when you factor in the environmental controversy surrounding fracking, be it Rep. Markey’s vision of deserts or recent earthquakes in Ohio. Why run those risks to produce a fuel that you then ship off to be used by a foreign country? And why not keep the gas here to keep heating and electricity prices low and encourage manufacturing, creating more jobs?

Cleverly, Rep. Markey raises the ghosts of peak oil in his letter, referring to the halcyon days before 1974 when the U.S. exported oil to the rest of the world. The reasoning is that the U.S. could end up making itself dependent on large natural gas imports at some point if it starts exporting more of its own reserves. It’s a seductive argument even if the current natural gas price curve, with spot gas commanding a paltry $3 per million British thermal units, suggests import dependence is many, many years off even if exports increased.

For the likes of Cheniere, Rep. Markey’s salvo is a big deal. “This is the tip of the iceberg”, says Mr Styles.

– Liam Denning

Update: While I see a contrast between Rep. Markey’s language this summer on fracking and his latest letter, Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for the Congressman, issued this clarification:

“Congressman Markey’s support of increased domestic supply of the cleanest fossil fuel has not changed. Indeed, the letter to Secretary Chu notes that natural gas is an important ‘bridge fuel’ that can provide energy with lower carbon emissions as the United States transitions to zero-carbon energy like wind and solar power. [Congressman Markey made the same point at the hearing he chaired on the ExxonMobil-XTO merger two years ago.] And Congressman Markey’s position that the environment, landowners, consumers and the public should all be protected from irresponsible drilling practices has also not changed. We can produce more American natural gas, we can keep more of it here at home, and we can do it without harming our land, water or air. These are not mutually exclusive goals for our country or the natural gas industry.”

Comments (5 of 7)

@Jeff in 2012,
Your comments are exactly what I'd expect from you. It's republicans like Jeff Semons who ran this country's economy into the ditch during the 2000's, not people like Ed Markey. When Democrats like Ed Markey were running the show in the 1990's this country saw one of the greatest economic booms in history of the U.S., you could even say the history of the World. In the 2000's Republicans like Ed Markey shipped millions of good paying jobs overseas, then opened up our borders and encouraged illegal immigrants to invade this country and take alll the entry level jobs that use to go to kids in their teens and early 20's who weren't ready or weren't interested in college. Also, although there are certainly exceptions businessmen generally don't make very good politicians. Look at Bush - terrible governor of texas and even worse President of the U.S.Semon is the problem, not the solution.

10:11 am January 7, 2012

Jeff in 2012 wrote :

@Dave Rhetoric and name calling won't hide the fact that Ed Markey is failing America on Jobs. Jeff Semon is not a "wing-nut" Republican. He is actually a common sense, fiscal conservative who has real world business experience helping companies work smarter to keep and create jobs. This is in stark contrast to Ed Markey who has spent his lifetime in government and has never seen a problem that more government can't make worse. http://www.jeffin2012.com

6:55 pm January 6, 2012

Dave wrote :

Jeff Semon is just another wing-nut republican, like the ones that drove our economy into the ditch leading up to the Great Recession and the ones that drove our economy into the ditch leading up to the Great Depression.
@ManAboutDallas, FracTracker is just trying to attract attention to his fact based web site, what exactly is your point? If you are actually from Dallas you shouldn't be criticizing somebody else’s congressmen. Jeff Sessions is one of the most corrupt and buffoonish congressmen out there.

4:07 pm January 6, 2012

Jeff in 2012 wrote :

Ed Markey is fundamentally incapable of understanding the law of supply and demand. He is the poster child for career politicians and emblematic of the problem we face in Washington. If you would like to see him voted out, please support business man Jeff Semon http://www.jeffin2012.com

1:50 pm January 6, 2012

ManAboutDallas wrote :

@FracTracker : the WSJ headline is a word-play on the term "backtracking", something the article itself suggests Rep. Markey is doing. Word-play often eludes those not in tune with the obtuse and the arcane.

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